Routing in very large home

[ryarber]

I have some questions about networking my very large home. It is about 10,000 sq feet.

I have Cat 6 cabling to every room and currently use an unmanaged gigabit switch. I have 50Mbps cable modem internet service. I have a RT-AC68U router and have 2 other access point, each with their own SSID. I also have my router set up to use a guest network.

I'd love to have a system that would work off one SSID that would automatically switch to the strongest signal. I'd also love that system to carry the guest network to all sections of the house as well, not just the area around my router.

I looked at the Orbi and the Velop, but I also looked at the ASUS RP-AC68u and it seems a viable option, especially if I upgrade my main router. So, I was thinking of going with the RT-AC5300 with the ASUS repeater. The Orbi and the Velop lose their advantages when used as access points rather than range extenders. It seems like the MU-MIMO in the 5300 would help keep speed up if I went this route as opposed to the other options.

Comments?

 

[thiggins]

Multiple access points connected via Ethernet is always better than wireless extenders or mesh.

Getting the guest network to work across everything is difficult using your current method or any system cobbled together using a router + APs unless they are a system designed to work together.

Many people report success using Ubiquiti UniFi cheap APs. You need to run a controller, but the Cloud Key device is more convenient and not that expensive.

Neither MU-MIMO nor moving to AC5300 will do anything to help range / coverage. They are "solutions" for increasing capacity.

 

[pete y testing]

Many people report success using Ubiquiti UniFi cheap APs

OP thats prob your best course of action , some well placed access points and your will never worry about wifi again

 

[ryarber]

Multiple access points connected via Ethernet is always better than wireless extenders or mesh.

Getting the guest network to work across everything is difficult using your current method or any system cobbled together using a router + APs unless they are a system designed to work together.

Many people report success using Ubiquiti UniFi cheap APs. You need to run a controller, but the Cloud Key device is more convenient and not that expensive.

Neither MU-MIMO nor moving to AC5300 will do anything to help range / coverage. They are "solutions" for increasing capacity.

My understanding of the MU-MIMO is that due to the increased capacity, I could use a repeater without speed drop from the repeater setup. Is that not correct? I thought it would dedicate a channel to the repeater and not drop network speed.

 

[sfx2000]

Multiple access points connected via Ethernet is always better than wireless extenders or mesh.

Getting the guest network to work across everything is difficult using your current method or any system cobbled together using a router + APs unless they are a system designed to work together.

Many people report success using Ubiquiti UniFi cheap APs. You need to run a controller, but the Cloud Key device is more convenient and not that expensive.

FWIW - Netgear has recently introduced a corp/enterprise grade WAC510 - does POE, and multiple AP's can be managed as a group.

It's a Wave2 device, supposedly supporting MU even - 2*2:2 - $99 at Fry's...

Very competitive perhaps with the UniFI AP's in the AC1200 class...